In a continuing effort to improve the quality of flesh market and shipping fruits, we, the inventors, typically hybridize a large number of nectarine and peach seedlings each year. The present invention relates to a new and distinct variety of nectarine tree, which has been denominated varietally as `Regal Pearl`. The present variety was developed by us in 1992 in a cultivated area of our experimental orchard at Bradford Farms near Le Grand, Calif. in Merced County (San Joaquin Valley). It was a first generation cross using `Red Glen` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 7,193) nectarine as the seed parent and an unnamed white flesh nectarine seedling as the selected pollen parent. Subsequent to origination of the present variety of nectarine tree, we asexually reproduced it by budding and grafting on Nemaguard (unpatented), rootstock, in the experimental orchard described above, and such reproduction of plant and fruit characteristics were true to the original plant in all respects.
The fruit produced by the present variety is most similar to the `Fire Pearl` (U.S. Plant Pat. No. 9,358) nectarine by producing white flesh nectarines that are subacidic in flavor, clingstone in type, and mostly red in skin color, but is distinguished therefrom and an improvement thereon by having reniform glands instead of globose and by producing fruit that ripens about two weeks later.
The present variety is similar to its seed parent, the `Red Glen`, by producing clingstone nectarines that are mostly red in skin color and very firm in texture, but is very distinguished therefrom by having a showy instead of nonshowy blossom and by producing fruit that is white instead of yellow in flesh color, that is subacid and much sweeter in flavor, and that ripens about two weeks later.